Genesis 45:1–15

JOSEPH REVEALS HIS IDENTITY

45Joseph could no longer keep his composure in front of all his attendants,^A so he called out, “Send everyone away from me!” No one was with him when he revealed his identity to his brothers.^{a 2}But he wept so loudly that the Egyptians heard it, and also Pharaoh’s household heard it. ³Joseph said to his brothers, “I am Joseph! Is my father still living?” But they could not answer him because they were terrified in his presence.

⁴Then Joseph said to his brothers, “Please, come near me,” and they came near. “I am Joseph, your brother,” he said, “the one you sold into Egypt.^{b 5}And now don’t be grieved or angry with yourselves for selling me here, because God sent me ahead of you to preserve life.^{c 6}For the famine has been in the land these two years, and there will be five more years without plowing or harvesting. ⁷God sent me ahead of you to establish you as a remnant within the land and to keep you alive by a great deliverance.^{A 8}Therefore it was not you who sent me here, but God. He has made me a father to Pharaoh, lord of his entire household, and ruler over all the land of Egypt.

⁹“Return quickly to my father and say to him, ‘This is what your son Joseph says: “God has made me lord of all Egypt. Come down to me without delay. ¹⁰You can settle in the land of Goshen^d and be near me—you, your children, and your grandchildren, your flocks, your herds, and all you have. ¹¹There I will sustain you, for there will be five more years of famine. Otherwise, you, your household, and everything you have will become destitute.” ’^{e 12}Look! Your eyes and the eyes of my brother Benjamin can see that I’m^B the one speaking to you. ¹³Tell my father about all my glory in Egypt and about all you have seen. And bring my father here quickly.”^f

¹⁴Then Joseph threw his arms around his brother Benjamin and wept, and Benjamin wept on his shoulder. ¹⁵Joseph kissed each of his brothers as he wept,^C and afterward his brothers talked with him.